any which way but falling
by Seito
Summary: "I think," Tsuna said gently, "that it's time you told me what exactly that Mask Program did to you." Part of the Adoption by Kidnapping Verse


**rainixdra** said: Hey Seito, I know this might be a strange prompt for the Adoption by Kidnapping AU but Yu's thoughts as the Mask was being forced onto him. (Also, maybe how he got overpowered in the first place? Because that question's been bugging me!)

 **TheFaeDemon** said: I've fell in love with this Au and I can't wait for the next in the series. Do you think you will explore more about when they get back home with the others? And about the effect the mask had on Yu?

lmao you guys are great. But I think this is the second to last of this universe that I'll be posting.

* * *

Tsuna frowned quietly to himself as he stood in the doorway of Yu's bedroom. It had been a trying month, between the kids' kidnapping, them being dropped in world that was trying to kill them, rescuing them and bringing home far more people than expected. It wasn't surprising that Yu had overslept.

His Hyper Intuition nudged him gently, forewarning him to something. He wasn't sure what, but he pushed it aside for now, more worried over his son.

Yu had a Mask put on him and still refused to speak about it. Shoichi, Spanner and Verde were still tearing apart the Mask's programing, trying uncover its entire purpose. What little the kids spoke of, it had been worrisome.

Tsuna reached out to shake Yu awake. "Yu-chan-"

Yu sprang into action. Orange Flames exploded outward, flooding the room. Tsuna jumped back, his own Sky Flames lit to protect him. He was given no moment to recover as Yu attacked, fist covered in Sky Flames.

Tsuna blocked the fist, bringing up his metal clad glove in time to catch the bullet that Yu had just fired from the gun he kept under his pillow. His orange eyes widened. If Tsuna didn't regularly spar with Reborn and his Guardians, that would move would have killed him.

Yu jumped back, taking aim; his normal brown eyes gleaming orange under the influence of Hyper Intuition.

Tsuna grit his teeth, swinging his arms forward. "Zero Point Breakthrough!" Ice crystallized, immobilizing Yu.

"Yu-chan!" Tsuna shouted, grabbing his son's face.

The orange faded from Yu's eyes, blinking wide awake. "T-Tousan?" he asked.

"Are you awake now?" Tsuna asked softly.

"I-yes?" Yu asked.

Tsuna's heart bled. He didn't like that uncertainty in Yu's eyes. It was almost as if they had gone back in time, back when Yu was five and unsure of his surroundings. Tsuna had worked hard to erase that and to see it back was heartbreaking.

"I think," Tsuna said gently, "that it's time you told me what exactly that Mask Program did to you."

-.-.-.-

Sometimes, Yu forgot. His motions were mechanical, without any emotion and utterly ruthless. Mornings, half asleep, were the worse.

Three months after being dropped in that hell hole and still the effects lingered, on Yu more than anyone else. For the others, like Ain, the adjusting down was easy enough. It helped largely by the fact that before they had arrived in that Skyscraper Realm, they had been normal humans.

Yu was not.

Yu had been raised by Vongola, raised by Tsuna and _**Reborn**_.

The Mask Program was gone, but its effects were not. The augmenting of physical strength remained, so did the razor-sharp honing of Yu's skills. Skills that already placed Yu outside of the norm, skills that gained a lethal edge that hadn't been there previously.

Tsuna had kept his promise, cleaning up the mafia. Many of the criminal aspects still remained, but the larger taboos of human trafficking, human experimentation, and unnecessary killing had vanished. As a result, the kids had grown up in a dangerous but relatively peaceful life. Yu, who's first instinct had always been to disable, suddenly possessed a skill set where the first instinct was the kill shot.

("It's terrible to say, but if I hadn't cleaned up the mafia, Yu would have fit right in," Tsuna said with a slight hysteria.

Reborn merely pulled him closer.)

Yu hated it. Hated that he let the Mask be put on him, hated that the skills he took pride in gained a dangerous lethal edge he could barely control. Because he was just as much Tsuna's son as he was Reborn's and it hurt to think about the people had killed under the Mask's influence, people he couldn't remember.

There were days when the line between Sniper and Yu blurred and something familiar became foreign. Days were Sniper failed to recognize Rika, failed to recognize his Elements, his parents.

There were days when the only reason someone walked away from Yu was because their Flames were strong enough or because the Mask's original first goal was to cause despair. Days were Yu couldn't control his strength, couldn't rein it all in.

His Elements gathered close. They had all moved into Yu's bedroom, sleeping in a big pile that soothed Yu's senses with safety, love and protection.

Tsuna and Reborn stuck equally close. Harmonization singing, Yu relearning their Flames as they poured as much love back into him. Yu would often sit next to Tsuna, their Sky Flames intertwining as he reached for that familiar safety blanket he had grown up with.

The rest of the family drew around, protecting and guarding, always on hand to remind Yu that he was home and safe.

"We'll get through this, Yu-chan," Tsuna whispered, squeezing Yu's hand tight.

"I hope so," Yu answered.

* * *

Effects of the Mask was a loss of control and reconfiguration of "autopilot". Also, sometimes memory is an issue too. Control can be relearned, autopilot redone, memory can be strengthened. So in theory, it won't be an issue in the future, but for now, coping and recovery.

Not mentioned in here, but across the board, everyone rescued is dealing with PTSD, depression, guilt and lots and lots of nightmares.

Please leave a review on your way out.


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